Dyslexia is a learning difficulty characterized by difficulties in reading, writing, and language processing, often accompanied by strengths in other areas. It affects individuals irrespective of their intelligence or background and may co-occur with other learning differences. Effective support includes recognizing individual strengths, adapting teaching methods, and providing appropriate resources to help dyslexic individuals succeed.

1. DYSLEXIA
… A Brief Look
Mrs Helen Lyall 1

2. A Definition of Dyslexia:
“Dyslexia is best described as a combination of
abilities and difficulties which affect the learning process
in one or more areas –
reading; writing; language; Numeracy.
Accompanying weaknesses may be identified in
speed of processing:
short term memory; auditory/visual perception;
sequencing; spoken language and motor skills .
Dyslexia occurs despite normal intellectual ability and
conventional teaching. It is independent of socio-
economic or language background.”
British Dyslexia Association 2001
Mrs Helen Lyall 2

3. Dispelling the Dyslexia Myths:
• Dyslexia is not a disease that can be cured but with proper
diagnosis and appropriate intervention, hard work and
support dyslexics can succeed. (www.learn2learn.co.nz)
• People do not „grow out of‟ Dyslexia – they may develop
coping strategies or these may need to be taught.
• Dyslexia is not a sign of being „thick‟ nor of having above
average intelligence, though many dyslexic people have
outstanding talents in Art, Architecture, Athletics, Drama,
Electronics, Engineering, Graphics, and Music.
• People with Dyslexia are not lazy, they have to work
harder than non-dyslexic people to de-code the written
word or text; a skill whichMrs Helen Lyallpeople take for granted. 3
most

4. Brain Differences
“There are differences in the brains of people with
Dyslexia. They have a different ability – a different way
of learning.” British Dyslexia Association 1998
Mrs Helen Lyall 4

5. Phonological Awareness
Verbal Memory
Verbal Processing Speed
Mrs Helen Lyall 5

6. Important Info:
• Dyslexia is a continuum ranging from mild to very severe;
and unique to each person.
• People with Dyslexia become excessively tired due to the
concentration and effort they have to make and because
of their inability to cut out extraneous noises and stimuli.
• People with Dyslexia have a maximum concentration
of their chronological age plus 2 minutes up to 25 yrs
old.
• The causes for Dyslexia are neurobiological and genetic,
so Dyslexia does run in families; but the specific genetic
link has not yet been conclusively identified.
Mrs Helen Lyall 6

7. The Specific Learning Difficulties or
Differences Spectrum
People with
Dyslexia often
have elements of
other Specific
Learning
Differences (co-
morbidity) eg:
ADHD; Aspergers
Syndrome; Autism;
Dyspraxia;
Dyscalculia;
Dysgraphia. Mrs Helen Lyall 7

8. Day to Day Dyslexia in the Classroom –
Pollock & Waller
“Everyone has two eyes, a nose and a
mouth, yet incredibly – every face is
different. It follows that we are all
constitutionally different and therefore,
there should be no cause for surprise that
we tend to acquire knowledge in different
ways; there are always some things that
each of us has difficulty in mastering.”
Mrs Helen Lyall 8

9. Recognising Possible Indicators
of Dyslexia:
You may think:
She (or he)’s not listening
but…
• s/he may have difficulty remembering a list of instructions.
(giving 1 or 2 instructions at a time may help)
• s/he may have problems thinking coherently for story or essay
writing. (extra time to plan/ prompt words may help)
• s/he may have sequencing problems and need to be taught
strategies to cope or alternative ways of remembering.
(flow charts or notes on post-its may help)
Mrs Helen Lyall 9

10. Recognising Possible Indicators
of Dyslexia: cont
You may think:
She (or he)’s not trying/making enough effort
but …
• s/he may have difficulty in organising work and may need to be
shown how to do this (a writing frame may help).
• s/he may be able to answer questions orally but can‟t write
them down (paired work may help).
• s/he may have found that the less she writes, the less trouble
s/he gets into for making mistakes.
(credit for effort and ideas, and less criticism of errors may help)
Mrs Helen Lyall 10

11. Recognising Possible Indicators of
Dyslexia: cont
You may think:
She (or he)’s not concentrating
but …
• s/he may have difficulty copying accurately. This is often
because s/he cannot remember chunks but has to look at each
letter, write it, look up and find their place, look at the next letter,
and so on.
(pre-typed notes so that s/he can be reading while others are copying
may help)
Mrs Helen Lyall 11

12. What does it say?
Ανηιγραθή κείμενο μπορεί να
είναι δύζκολο για οριζμένα
άηομα.
Mrs Helen Lyall 12

13. Recognising Possible Indicators: cont
You may think:
She (or he)’s careless / not checking their work
but …
• s/he may have poor handwriting due to insufficient hand skills
to control the pen/pencil. (short daily practices may help)
• s/he may spell the same word several different ways because
s/he has no visual memory of which is the right way, nor
kinaesthetic memory for it to feel right as s/he is writing it. (use
the Look, Say, Write, Cover, Check spelling method to learn words)
• s/he may have a visual memory deficiency making interpreting
symbols difficult. (1-to-1 learning support may help)
Mrs Helen Lyall 13

14. Recognising Possible Indicators: cont
You may think:
She (or he)’s being awkward on purpose
but …
• S//he or he may be able to produce very good work one day but
„trip up over every word‟ the next.
• „Off days‟ are quite common. These are so demoralising and
frustrating and can quickly cause lowered self-esteem.
(acknowledgement that we understand what an off day feels like plus
reminders of past successes may help)
Mrs Helen Lyall 14

15. "The dyslexics were using 4.6 times as much area of the
brain to do the same language task as the controls," said
Todd Richards, co-leader of the study. "This means their
brains were working a lot harder and using more energy
than the normal children". "People often don't see how
hard it is for dyslexic children to do a task that others do
so effortlessly," added Virginia Berninger, a professor of
educational psychology.
Mrs Helen Lyall 15

16. Some Common Strengths:
• A good visual eye
• May be able to see in 3-D
• May be imaginative
• May be skilful with his/her hands
• May be practical – make the best models
• May be keen on sport and even excel at one or more
• May have a fantastic imagination when conversing
• May be able to tell wonderful stories if his/her long-
term memory is good
Mrs Helen Lyall 16

17. Some Common Difficulties:
• Sequencing - eg: days of week; words in sentences;
order of months; polysyllables; order of story
• Direction/orientation - eg: left/right confusion
• Understanding Prepositions - eg: in/out; under/over;
before/after.
• Fine Motor Skills - eg: using scissors; holding pens;
keeping within lines; clapping to music.
• Gross Motor Co-ordination - eg: appears clumsy;
hand/eye co-ordination
Mrs Helen Lyall 17

18. Some Common Difficulties: cont.
• Speaking/Listening - eg: assimilating verbal
instructions; expressing themselves fluently despite
having a good vocabulary; forgetting or „losing‟ the
word they need; mispronouncing words; using strange
grammatical structures but can explain what they
mean; difficulty following rhythm patterns; recalling
and producing the right word and getting it slightly
wrong – probe instead of prong
• Organization - eg: personal – being on time; school -
remembering equipment; losing things.
• Information Processing - eg: retrieval (even things
like their own address); interpretation.
• Time Concepts - eg: yesterday/today/tomorrow;
telling the time; time passing.
Mrs Helen Lyall 18

19. Ten Top Tips:
1. Find out/recognise and acknowledge the dyslexic pupil‟s strengths
2. Praise the dyslexic pupil‟s efforts and achievements – s/he needs
you to believe in them
3. Help dyslexic pupils to recognise their own learning style – Visual,
Aural, Kinaesthetic or a combination (meta-cognitive)
4. Incorporate a Multi-Sensory Approach to learning
5. Provide opportunities for over-learning or cumulative learning
6. Teach students to use logic rather than rote memory because short
term and long term memory are common areas of weakness for
dyslexics.
7. Mark for content not for spelling (especially during „off days‟)
4 positives to 1 negative
8. Sit dyslexic students near to the front beside a well-motivated peer
9. Play to the dyslexic pupil‟s strengths and let him/her „shine‟ every so
often
10. Give time for processing eg: paired discussions before hands up
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20. Legible Logistics!
• Use a cream or pastel background on your whiteboard – to cut down on
glare and reduce visual disturbance
• Print or photocopy on cream or pastel paper
• On handouts and/or the whiteboard, use a sans serif font such as Ariel or
Century Gothic with a minimum font size 12
• Keep copying from the board/books to a minimum but if it has to be done,
put a coloured dot at each end of every line to help with tracking;
• or write each line in a different colour
• Hand out a copy of the homework instructions
• Give a photocopied transcript to dyslexic pupils to read rather than have
them copy large amounts from the board
• Modify worksheets and boards so the layout is uncluttered and important
sections highlighted
• Present material sequentially, start from the very beginning and build slowly,
step by step. Most people remember best when facts and experiences are
connected with one another, and when material is presented in small units.
'Less is better'.
Mrs Helen Lyall 20

21. Helpful Hints:
• Initiate „study buddies‟ whose skills complement each other. Eg: a
student who has good ideas for writing (composition) but difficulty
with handwriting is paired with a student who is good at handwriting
(transcription) but weaker at composition
• Encourage a positive view of Dyslexia eg: talk about role models
and/or put photos up in your room (www.xtraordinarypeople.com)
• Consider pairing a dyslexic student with another student who can
support reading of texts
• Keep a range of practical aids that will help the dyslexic student to
access the curriculum – highlighters; post-its; etc.
• Present instructions and facts both visually and orally.
• Consider the pace of the lesson and the amount of information given.
Mrs Helen Lyall 21

22. A Few Famous Dyslexics:
• Albert Einstein 1879 – 1955 Physicist
• Winston Churchill 1874 – 1965 Prime Minister
• Susan Hampshire (Actress)
• Tom Cruise (Actor)
• Will Smith (Actor)
• Robyn Williams (Actor)
• Pam Ayres (Poet)
• Benjamin Zephaniah (Jamaican Poet)
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23. Mrs Helen Lyall 23